Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 14, Verse 9
सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत।ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तमः प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत।।
sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata
jñānam āvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayaty uta
also searched as "sattvam sukhe sanjayati rajah karmani bharata"
Translation
Sattva generates attachment to pleasure, Rajas to action, O Arjuna. But Tamas, obscuring knowledge, generates attachment to negligence.
Vāṇi's rendering
Clarity ties you to comfort; restlessness ties you to work; darkness veils knowing and ties you to neglect.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सत्त्वम्sattvam | clarity, the strand of light and balance |
| सुखेsukhe | to comfort, to pleasant feeling |
| सञ्जयतिsañjayati | binds, fastens, makes one cling |
| रजःrajaḥ | restlessness, the strand of drive |
| कर्मणिkarmaṇi | to action, to doing |
| भारतbhārata | Arjuna, of Bharata's line |
| ज्ञानम्jñānam | knowing, clear discernment |
| आवृत्यāvṛtya | having covered over, veiled |
| तुtu | but, however |
| तमःtamaḥ | darkness, the strand of dullness |
| प्रमादेpramāde | to neglect, to heedlessness |
| सञ्जयतिsañjayati | binds, makes one cling (sandhi: sañjayaty before uta) |
| उतuta | indeed, and so |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14 Verse 9 mean?
It names what each strand fastens you to. Sattva fastens you to comfort, rajas to activity, tamas to heedlessness after veiling your capacity to see. The point is not that comfort is bad, but that even a pleasant attachment is an attachment — and the pleasant one is hardest to notice.
What does sattvam sukhe sanjayati rajah karmani bharata teach?
That the strand of light also binds. Clarity brings sukha, and sukha becomes something you protect. Krishna says this to Arjuna at the very moment Arjuna wants relief from his turmoil. Relief is real, and it is still a tie. Recognise it, and you are no longer held by it unknowingly.
Why is tamas described as veiling knowledge?
Because restlessness and clarity leave you able to see your own state, while tamas removes the very light by which you would see it. That is why pramāda — neglect, letting things slide — feels like nothing is wrong. The covering comes first; the carelessness follows and seems reasonable.
How do I use this verse in daily life?
Watch the pull, not the mood. When comfort makes you postpone what must be done, that is sattva binding. When you cannot sit still, rajas. When the day passes and nothing was attended to, tamas. Naming the strand loosens it, because the one naming it is not the strand.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Notice which rope is yours. Krishna is not ranking the three; he is showing that each one ties. Restlessness ties visibly — the one who cannot stop working knows it. Darkness ties heavily and hides the fact. But clarity ties too, and that is the sting: the calm, the study, the quiet pleasure of understanding becomes a place you refuse to leave. A comfortable binding is still a binding. Arjuna would gladly trade his agitation for peace; Krishna tells him peace is also a rope, only softer. Ask what you would refuse to give up today. That is the rope.